The GMC Snow Tank

Recently, Kia’s been running a commercial called “The Kia Chairlift.” The ad shows a Sportage driving some skiers up a relatively tame incline in place of a chairlift. Don’t get me wrong: that’s impressive. I’m reasonably sure my FWD would be alternately spinning itself into ruts and sliding into ravines. However, a Sportage can’t really be considered a terrain-conquering beast. And it certainly couldn’t make it to the top of the Flute Bowl.

What’s a Flute Bowl?

I’m glad you asked. The Flute Bowl is a remote area on Whistler Mountain not accessible by chairlift. To reach its peak, skiers need to walk nearly 45 minutes uphill. And nothing’s more fun than interrupting a day of skiing to haul your gear up a mountain like a 19th-century surveyor. Whistler Blackcomb was looking for a better solution, so they asked their partner GMC. GMC was already providing “a fleet of Professional Grade trucks and SUVs on the mountain,” but this task demanded something special.

All Mountain Sierra HD 2.0 (GMC Snow Tank)

The GMC All Mountain Sierra HD 2.0 (which I would have named the GMC Snow Tank) is nothing if not special. Based on the All-Terrain X, it has little trouble climbing even the steepest surfaces. A 6.6L Duramax Diesel with 910lb-ft of torque is just the beginning of its ridiculous spec sheet. The All-Mountain’s most obvious upgrades are the 18-inch 175 Series Mattracks that guarantee traction in the snow. To accommodate those triangular tank treads, GMC needed to install a 12-inch lift kit. But that’s not all. Other modifications include:

Fox Shocks

Winches

360-Degree Lighting

Whistler Blackcomb Custom Wrap

The GMC Snow Tank also hangs on to the standard (“standard” in the sense the same way that Rolls Royce mixes real diamonds in their paint) features of GMC’s All-Terrain series. Those features include: